Sheffield United starlet's Leeds United ambition amid welcome pledge that Unitedites will love

Oliver Arblaster is so determined to get back out on the pitch that he asked if he could play 10 minutes in Sheffield United’s top-of-the-table clash with Leeds United on Monday night. The homegrown hero is still in the midst of a gruelling rehabilitation process after snapping an anterior cruciate ligament in November’s derby victory over rivals Wednesday.

He only recently look the latest step in that process by lacing up his boots and tentatively feeling grass under his feet again, but only in a light walking capacity. The 21-year-old will miss the rest of the campaign with a target to be fit for pre-season, by which time he hopes the Blades will be back in the Premier League again.

“It's going well,” the midfielder said of his rehab process. “I obviously wish I was out there with the lads [v Leeds] but I'm trying to be as positive as I can and taking it step-by-step. The physios don't like me in there!

“I'm constantly chomping at the bit to play. I went in today and asked: ‘Can I just do 10 minutes [against Leeds] off the bench?’ There was definitely no chance of that happening but I can't wait to be back out there. It's games like those that you really miss being out there.”

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Arblaster’s gruelling recovery process is being documented for an in-house series, highlighting both the physical anguish of strengthening his body again and the mental anguish of watching his teammates go about the day-to-day business of a promotion push while he is confined to the gym at United’s Shirecliffe training ground.

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“I feel like I'm going to come back stronger, 100 per cent,” said the academy product, who recently had a break from rehab in Dubai. “You've got to look at it really positively. I know it's a big injury, and I've not had one of these before in my career.

“But it's given me a bit of time to reflect, on where I've come from. I obviously don't want it to happen but I know come the end of it that mentally I'll be a lot stronger and my body will physically be a lot better too.